[Introduced January 11, 2012; referred to the Committee on Labor;
and then to the Committee on Government Organization.]

____________

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §5B-2I-1, §5B-2I-2,
§5B-2I-3 and §5B-2I-4, all relating to creating the Keep Jobs
in West Virginia Act; requiring all work performed for the
state by contractors be performed in the United States; making
legislative findings; permitting the state to seek damages and
void contracts for work done outside the country; and
providing exceptions.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §5B-2I-1, §5B-2I-2,
§5B-2I-3 and §5B-2I-4, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2I. KEEP JOBS IN WEST VIRGINIA ACT.

§5B-2I-1. Title.

This article may be known as the “Keep Jobs in West Virginia
Act.”

§5B-2I-2. Legislative findings.

The Legislature finds that:

(a) State departments and agencies procure services through
contracts with private vendors.

(b) Increasingly, private vendors purchase or carry out these
services, or subcontract or otherwise procure these services, from
a location outside the United States. This international
outsourcing substantially increases unemployment and workforce
dislocation and deprives West Virginia residents of job
opportunities, including industries and jobs that West Virginia has
expended resources to attract.

(c) International outsourcing erodes state and local revenues
by drawing jobs and income away from state residents and
businesses. International outsourcing additionally may provide
fewer privacy protections for state residents whose personal
information may, in the course of service delivery, be transmitted
to locations outside the United States.

§5B-2I-3. State contracts.

Except as provided in section four of this article, the
following requirements apply to all state contracts:

(a) State department and agencies may not award a contract to
a contractor or subcontractor who performs the work at a site
outside the United States;

(b) Each vendor submitting a bid or contract to provide
services for the state must certify the services covered by the bid
or contract will be performed in the United States;

(c) If, during the life of the contract, the contractor or
subcontractor shifts work overseas, then the department or agency
shall require the contractor or subcontractor to pay damages in an
amount equal to the amount paid by the department or agency for the
percentage of outsourced work. The department or agency also shall
terminate the contract for noncompliance; and

(d) The department or agency is entitled to bring a civil
action in state or federal court to compel enforcement or damages
under this article. The court shall award reasonable attorney’s
fees and costs to the department or agency.

§5B-2I-4. Exceptions.

Section three of this article does not apply to a contract if
refusing to award that contract would violate the specific terms to
which state consented under:

(a) The Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade
Organization; or

(b) A bilateral or regional free trade agreement.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the “Keep Jobs in
West Virginia Act.” The bill requires all work performed for the
state by contractors be performed in the United States. The bill
makes legislative findings. The bill also permits the state to
seek damages and void contracts for work done outside the country
and provides exceptions.

This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.